Reconnecting with Pleasure and Joy After Trauma

Maria Diaz
26 minutes ago
4 min read

By Maria Diaz, LMHC-D, LPC, EMDR Certified Therapist

Experiencing trauma can profoundly shift how we feel, connect, and experience the world. For many survivors, the aftermath includes not only distress or hypervigilance but also something quieter and often more confusing — a sense of emotional numbness or difficulty accessing joy. Pleasure may feel distant, muted, or even unsafe.

The good news? Rebuilding a relationship with joy is possible. Research shows that the brain and body are capable of healing, reconnecting, and even growing in powerful ways after experiencing trauma.

Why Trauma Sometimes Silences Joy

A large portion of people with PTSD experience anhedonia, or a reduced ability to feel pleasure. Research has shown that trauma can disrupt the brain’s reward circuitry, making positive emotions harder to access.

• A clinical study found that people with PTSD often experience a global reduction in positive emotions, not just trauma-related ones. [1]

• Another study showed that trauma can impair reward processing, leading to decreased pleasure in daily life. [2]

This emotional numbing isn’t a personal failure — it’s a protective survival response. Over time, the brain shifts into threat-detection mode, prioritizing survival over joy.

Trauma Is More Common Than Many Realize

Statistics remind us that the struggle to reconnect with joy is widespread:

• 60–70% of people globally will experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. [3]

• In the U.S., PTSD affects about 3.5% of adults yearly and nearly 7% over a lifetime. [4]

With trauma this common, difficulty reconnecting with joy is not unusual — it is human, and your reactions are valid.

The Possibility of Growth and Joy After Trauma

Healing isn’t only about reducing symptoms; it’s also about rediscovering meaning, connection, and pleasure. Many survivors experience post-traumatic growth (PTG) —the ability to create new strengths, values, and relationships after trauma.

• Coping mechanisms like optimism, acceptance, and positive reinterpretation strongly predict post-traumatic growth. [5]

• Self-compassion plays a significant role in restoring emotional resilience and fostering growth. [6]

Research shows that joy isn’t something we just “get back.” Growing after hard experiences doesn’t remove the pain, but it makes room for both joy and sadness to exist together. Joy is something we can rebuild and care for in new ways.

⸻

How to Reconnect With Joy After Trauma

1. Reconnect With Positive Memories

Therapies increasingly include modules that help clients strengthen and access joyful memories — a powerful way to retrain the brain’s emotional pathways. [7]

These practices help increase access to pleasure by reinforcing the brain’s reward system.

2. Practice Mindfulness & Body Awareness

Trauma often disconnects us from our bodies. Mindfulness and interoceptive practices help reestablish that safety and emotional regulation from within. [8]

By paying attention to their breathing, heartbeat, or body sensations, survivors can slowly learn to feel calm and comfortable again. As they gently reconnect with their bodies, feelings of joy and peace become more accessible.

3. Use Creative Expression

Creative activities such as art, writing, movement, or digital storytelling can help survivors express their emotions in a safe and healthy manner. These outlets support healing by helping people process trauma and reconnect with their feelings. [9]

Creativity often unlocks emotional experiences that words alone cannot reach.

4. Adopt Daily Positive Practices

Simple rituals — such as gratitude, humor, awe, and spiritual reflection —are strongly linked to healing after trauma. These simple practices can help the brain gradually relearn how to feel joy. [10]

These small moments accumulate and help the brain rediscover joy. These micro-moments of pleasure cue the nervous system that joy is safe again.

5. Seek Trauma-Informed Somatic Therapy

Somatic therapies help survivors reconnect with their bodies, regulate their nervous system, and reduce trauma symptoms. Unlike talk therapy alone, somatic work engages physical sensations, grounding, and the trauma-stored body responses.

Research that has delved into Somatic Therapy:

Somatic Experiencing significantly reduced PTSD and depression symptoms in a randomized controlled trial. [11]
A scoping review found positive effects of Somatic Experiencing on PTSD-related symptoms and overall well-being. [12]
Somatic Experiencing reduced PTSD symptoms and fear of movement in people with chronic pain + PTSD. [13]
Patients in primary care found somatic therapy acceptable, meaningful, and helpful. [14]
Breast cancer survivors receiving somatic therapy reported decreased depression + anxiety and improved body image.[15]

These studies show somatic therapy’s growing evidence base and its role in restoring safety, connection, and emotional flow.

6. Build Compassionate Relationships

Connection plays a profound role in healing. Supportive relationships — whether friends, family, groups, or communities — help restore a sense of belonging. [16]

Compassion (from others and from oneself) is one of the strongest predictors of emotional recovery.

Why Reconnecting With Joy Matters

Joy doesn’t take away trauma, but it eases its hold. It opens space for healing, growth, connection, and self-discovery. Joy isn’t a luxury — it’s essential. It helps calm the nervous system, build resilience, and bring meaning back into life. Survivors deserve more than just surviving. They deserve rest, love, beauty, passion, and moments that make life feel full again.

Reclaiming pleasure does not mean forgetting the past. It means expanding your emotional world so the past no longer steals the richness of the present.

Healing is not fast, and it is not linear — but it is deeply possible. With support, intention, and compassion, the capacity for joy can return, slowly at first, and then more freely. You deserve not just to survive, but to feel alive again.

About the Author

Maria Diaz is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in NY, NJ, and CT. She's certified in EMDR and trained in trauma-focused modalities. She is focused on healing and providing compassionate treatment to best support clients looking to feel better.

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Sources: [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36987701

[2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9167566 [3] https://psychscenehub.com/psychinsights/advances-posttraumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd [4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35646293 [5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15027788 [6] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40728600 [7] https://trialsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13063-022-06540-1 [8] https://arxiv.org/abs/2010.06078 [9] https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.09834 [10] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15027788 [11]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28585761

[12] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34290845

[13] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28680540

[14] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40785848

[15] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37510644 [16] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40728600

By Maria Diaz, LMHC-D, LPC, EMDR Certified Therapist

The good news? Rebuilding a relationship with joy is possible. Research shows that the brain and body are capable of healing, reconnecting, and even growing in powerful ways after experiencing trauma.

Why Trauma Sometimes Silences Joy

A large portion of people with PTSD experience anhedonia, or a reduced ability to feel pleasure. Research has shown that trauma can disrupt the brain’s reward circuitry, making positive emotions harder to access.

• A clinical study found that people with PTSD often experience a global reduction in positive emotions, not just trauma-related ones. [1]

• Another study showed that trauma can impair reward processing, leading to decreased pleasure in daily life. [2]

This emotional numbing isn’t a personal failure — it’s a protective survival response. Over time, the brain shifts into threat-detection mode, prioritizing survival over joy.

Trauma Is More Common Than Many Realize

Statistics remind us that the struggle to reconnect with joy is widespread:

• 60–70% of people globally will experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. [3]

• In the U.S., PTSD affects about 3.5% of adults yearly and nearly 7% over a lifetime. [4]

With trauma this common, difficulty reconnecting with joy is not unusual — it is human, and your reactions are valid.

The Possibility of Growth and Joy After Trauma

Healing isn’t only about reducing symptoms; it’s also about rediscovering meaning, connection, and pleasure. Many survivors experience post-traumatic growth (PTG) —the ability to create new strengths, values, and relationships after trauma.

• Coping mechanisms like optimism, acceptance, and positive reinterpretation strongly predict post-traumatic growth. [5]

• Self-compassion plays a significant role in restoring emotional resilience and fostering growth. [6]

Research shows that joy isn’t something we just “get back.” Growing after hard experiences doesn’t remove the pain, but it makes room for both joy and sadness to exist together. Joy is something we can rebuild and care for in new ways.

⸻

How to Reconnect With Joy After Trauma

1. Reconnect With Positive Memories

Therapies increasingly include modules that help clients strengthen and access joyful memories — a powerful way to retrain the brain’s emotional pathways. [7]

These practices help increase access to pleasure by reinforcing the brain’s reward system.

2. Practice Mindfulness & Body Awareness

Trauma often disconnects us from our bodies. Mindfulness and interoceptive practices help reestablish that safety and emotional regulation from within. [8]

By paying attention to their breathing, heartbeat, or body sensations, survivors can slowly learn to feel calm and comfortable again. As they gently reconnect with their bodies, feelings of joy and peace become more accessible.

3. Use Creative Expression

Creative activities such as art, writing, movement, or digital storytelling can help survivors express their emotions in a safe and healthy manner. These outlets support healing by helping people process trauma and reconnect with their feelings. [9]

Creativity often unlocks emotional experiences that words alone cannot reach.

4. Adopt Daily Positive Practices

Simple rituals — such as gratitude, humor, awe, and spiritual reflection —are strongly linked to healing after trauma. These simple practices can help the brain gradually relearn how to feel joy. [10]

These small moments accumulate and help the brain rediscover joy. These micro-moments of pleasure cue the nervous system that joy is safe again.

5. Seek Trauma-Informed Somatic Therapy

Somatic therapies help survivors reconnect with their bodies, regulate their nervous system, and reduce trauma symptoms. Unlike talk therapy alone, somatic work engages physical sensations, grounding, and the trauma-stored body responses.

Research that has delved into Somatic Therapy:

Somatic Experiencing significantly reduced PTSD and depression symptoms in a randomized controlled trial. [11]

A scoping review found positive effects of Somatic Experiencing on PTSD-related symptoms and overall well-being. [12]

Somatic Experiencing reduced PTSD symptoms and fear of movement in people with chronic pain + PTSD. [13]

Patients in primary care found somatic therapy acceptable, meaningful, and helpful. [14]

Breast cancer survivors receiving somatic therapy reported decreased depression + anxiety and improved body image.[15]

These studies show somatic therapy’s growing evidence base and its role in restoring safety, connection, and emotional flow.

6. Build Compassionate Relationships

Connection plays a profound role in healing. Supportive relationships — whether friends, family, groups, or communities — help restore a sense of belonging. [16]

Compassion (from others and from oneself) is one of the strongest predictors of emotional recovery.

Why Reconnecting With Joy Matters

Reclaiming pleasure does not mean forgetting the past. It means expanding your emotional world so the past no longer steals the richness of the present.

Healing is not fast, and it is not linear — but it is deeply possible. With support, intention, and compassion, the capacity for joy can return, slowly at first, and then more freely. You deserve not just to survive, but to feel alive again.

About the Author

Maria Diaz is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in NY, NJ, and CT. She's certified in EMDR and trained in trauma-focused modalities. She is focused on healing and providing compassionate treatment to best support clients looking to feel better.